Jedi Academy Legends
by author2be3
Summary: A collection of tales and short stories about different outcomes and events that happened within the time of the Jedi Academy.
1. Sibling Rivalry

A/N: First of all: I don't expect anyone to read these things. I just want to put them somewhere. Second: these are just going to be one shots (or series of one shots) that take place during, after, or before the events of Jedi Academy. (To be honest, I usually write things like this when I'm facing writers block or I'm bored.) Third: this is following my head cannon (Jaden is a human female, and a family I had set up).

Anyway, this takes place after the events of Jedi Academy with the dark side ending. Let me know what you think, what I need to work on, etc. Thank you!

* * *

Jaden inhaled deeply, thinking of only the power encapsulated within the Scepter of Ragons. Her mind went back to the day she gained this power. From being in that dark tomb, back toward cutting down not only Tavion, but Alora and…

Jaden's mind seemed unsettled at the thought of the very person who set her on this path. That annoying little twit who tried to preach to her about power. He wasn't even worth mentioning, let alone dwelling on anymore. She sucked in another gasp of air and focused back on the power, the strength that pooled from the Dark Side of the Force.

It hadn't been that long since Jaden's fall, maybe close to a month or so. And under her reign of terror, the multitude of her men (which she took by force) were killed by her not too long after. She had adopted the habit of causing fear, gaining followers, only to cut them down not very far down the road. Somewhere in between she would be gathering more Force power for the scepter. The way it called to her, tempted her, was impossible to resist. And in a way, she didn't want to. Giving in was an exhilarating rush crawling under her skin; even when the feeling ended from taking all the power she could get a hold of, the remains leaving her fingertips was glorious! This was a beautiful addiction not worthy of breaking.

Making her way to answer the scepter's gnawing call, she never expected a faded face to appear to her once more after years of separation. Was it dumb luck, or the Force that spared such a reunion that left the fallen Jedi unprepared? A quick trip causing Jaden to drop her treasured scepter which ended up smacking the stranger in the back. A young man turned sharply to face who he thought was a new attacker. He stared long and hard at the young woman.

"Oh Force, I found you." He whispered.

Jaden was finally able to pick up her head to lock eyes with the stranger. It didn't take too long for Jaden to realize who it was. Jaden had never felt discomfort and fear like she did now. She slowly began to get up, unable to remove her eyes from him. "You look like hell, Jay." He said trying to take a step closer. Jaden flinched at his approach. The man retreated back in response. "How did you find me?" Jaden muttered.

The man dropped an 'are-you-serious' face. "You left a trail of chaos and death in your wake. You should be grateful I found you first instead of the Jedi."

Jaden only rolled her eyes, "They wouldn't dare raise a blade to one of their own."  
"You mean, you _were_ one of their own. Before you became hungry for power with an obsession for murder."

Jaden scoffed, "You really have no idea of the power I now have, do you?" The man only shook his head, "Last I checked, you were already powerful. Building a lightsaber before having any training, strange force powers out the wazoo, seems to me like you didn't need anything more."

"Spare me, Alex. You wouldn't understand." Jaden snarled. Alex crossed his arms, "Oh no, I think I understand perfectly. Still living in mommy and daddy's shadows, huh? I though we agreed we were good enough as we were without our parents' approval." Jaden's eyes grew cold, "Are you saying _I_ agree with _them_?!"

Alex brushed off her threat, "Never did. But… I think you've let yourself believe what our parents used to say about us."

"I would _never_ agree with _them_!"

"Then why are you stealing Force power, murdering people, and running from the Jedi and calling yourself more powerful?!" Jaden was so angry, she couldn't respond quickly enough. Alex continued, "If you want to defend yourself, then let's prove it like we used to." He began to crack his knuckles, "First one to give loses."

Jaden shot a skeptical glance, "You sure you want to face me with all that I'm capable now?"  
"Yes," Alex said, "With how you are now, I don't have a thing to worry about."

That got Jaden angry. With the Force rushing through her, she dashed after him.  
Their fist fight went on. Surprisingly enough, Alex kept up, even got the upper hand on her a multiple amount of times. It eventually reached the point where Alex was able to pin Jaden down by taking hold of Jaden's right arm straight behind her back with one of his knees digging into her. Jaden fought with all her might, but the more she struggled the more her arm began to ache. "Jaden…" Alex said calmly, "If you keep fighting me, you're going to break your arm."

Jaden made no response, she just kept fighting. "Jaden." He tried again, "If you surrender, I can let you go." She continued to fight. Alex's hold began to cause even more pain. "Don't make me do this to you." He said calmly, "You're supposed to be my sister, not my enemy. Just stop."

"I won't surrender ever!" She shouted. A great jolt of pain went through her arm causing her to cry out. Alex leaned over to talk into Jaden's ear, "You do realize every once in a while you have to know when to give in, to admit things aren't where they should be. Try it just this once, before you break your arm."  
" _I'm_ not giving in! I'm going to- GAHHH!" Before Alex could say another word, an uncomfortable crack noise was heard, followed by Jaden's screams in pain. Her arm curved a way it wasn't supposed to in Alex's grasp. He still wasn't getting off. He leaned over her to her ear again. "If you can't surrender to something as simple as this, you'll never be saved…"

"Excuse me?!" She snarled. He continued, "If you had surrendered, your arm wouldn't be broken. That would mean there's still some part of you that someone can reason with. A part of you that is still willing to do what is right, that doesn't want to get yourself hurt anymore. If that is shut off completely, no one can reach you anymore. The Jedi may spare you regardless, but I'm not so sure I can."

Anger and fear swelled up inside Jaden, trying to fight for her life. "See, like that." He said, "The Jedi would stop at nothing to capture you and keep you from causing any harm to the galaxy, as well as yourself. But for me… I could just turn you lose and let you cause your own downfall."

There was a pause, Jaden seemed to stop struggling.

"Do you not care?!" Alex went on, "Does your life even _matter_ to you? Didn't you _want_ to be a Jedi? Why have shut yourself off so much that you won't even _let_ yourself be vulnerable!?" Jaden gridded her teeth. Sure there was a reason! But was she about to give a whole sob story to her brother. No thank you! "It's none of your business what happened." She muttered. "Wrong answer sis. I scoured the galaxy to find you not to let you close yourself off and destroy yourself. I came as your brother to try and help you."

"I don't need help!" She growled. "We both know that's not true. Even if you had turned without a leveled head, you would know something's wrong about what you're doing."

Everything stopped in Jaden's mind. Her brother's words were beginning to make rise in her. Maybe… maybe he's right. What was she doing? Why was everything this nonstop cycle of fear, control, and murder? That when Jaden noticed the absence of something. The very thing that kept her trapped in this cycle… her own will. The very thing she surrendered to the scepter all for its need for power. This wasn't freedom. She could lie to herself and give it a different name, but that could never change what it was… Jaden finally did something she never thought she was capable of:

She began to cry…

Oh wonderful! Now her brother could see her as a pathetic heap. But to her surprise, Alex made no comment. He just waited and listened. "Okay…" Jaden's voice was breaking, "I surrender…" Alex complied and got off Jaden's back. Jaden carefully sat up and cradled her arm. "Hold on." Alex said as he tore off part of his shirt and tied Jaden's arm in a make-shift sling. "Thanks." Jaden muttered, trying to wipe away the rest of her tears. Her brother looked back at her, his eyes unchanging in that cool demeanor of his. "So Jaden, do you know what's wrong?"

She nodded silently but refused to speak. Her brother wasn't going to have any of that. "What the hell happened to you at the Academy?" Jaden kept quiet for a while. She wasn't ready to share with her brother the pain she had experienced there, the choices she made… the people she killed. Then that one face flashed in her mind, the one that broke everything down, the one she blamed for everything…  
His memory twisted up in her mind. It was impossible to describe him. Friend? Trader? A crush? An enemy? How to even begin with that guy…

Jaden released a heavy sigh and told her whole story… It was hard, the pain was still fresh to her; but in some aspects perhaps it was time to let go. But the tale of her self-destruction was still going up until now. Alex was patient, never interrupting and always doing his best to understand. By the time she was done, Alex got a chance to speak, "Wait… so you turned because of a boy?!" Jaden's cheeks colored a bit, "It wasn't like that…" She muttered. "Well of course, but still." He said running a hand through his hair. "Force Jaden! This is a fine mess you've made for yourself." Jaden didn't reply. Silence began to dominate the air around them.

"Are you still going down this path?" Alex finally asked. "You need to take that scepter away from me." His sister said without hesitation, "Give it to the Jedi. Let them handle it." Alex shook his head, "That still doesn't answer what happens to you." Jaden finally looked at her brother right in the eyes, "I'm not ready to turn myself in." She said, "I want… I want to find peace with myself first. I need… forgiveness. From myself and maybe even… Rosh." That name came as a whisper. Jaden quickly realized it was the first time in a long time his name was on her lips. Alex noticed the change in her voice. "Rosh? Was that the boy you…?" He didn't want to finish. Jaden turning away at the question was answer enough. It amazed Alex at how such a person could make such an impact on his headstrong and closed off sister.

"Tell the Jedi council, Jaden Korr surrenders her evil ways… but she'll turn herself in time." Jaden said softly. "What are you going to do until then?" He asked. "I don't know… I'll find some way to prepare myself for my enviable fate…"

A bitter feeling was left between the siblings. Alex leaned in to his sister to hug her, minding her broken arm. She hugged him back with her good arm. "I hope to see you again, Jaden… Find me if you need me. We're family and we do what's best to help." Jaden felt the tears coming back, "Thank you Alex… For freeing me. I hope to see you again too… the real me, not the person who you ran into today…"

When they released each other from their embrace, Alex went over to the scepter and picked it up. "It's heavier than I thought." He began to walk in the opposite direction as his sister. He made one last look over his shoulder as a breeze rushed though. But just like that breeze, Jaden was gone.


	2. True Feelings

A/N: And here's another one just because. I _really_ don't expect anyone to read this because it's about Rosh so…

This one is while Rosh is on the Dark Side after his confrontation with Jaden. Also, Jaden is still a woman, and there is a New Republic spy that the Disciples of Ragnos captured who Rosh sort of befriended. Oh, Rosh and Jaden also had a fight before he left for Byss and Jaden for Hoth. (I might write that scene later…)

* * *

The image of an angry Jaden closing in filled Rosh's mind. He had the strangest feeling of discomfort and pain when she looked at him like that. He wanted it stop! Everything inside him mentally screamed at him to move onto something else, but he seemed stuck on her.

It hurt so much, but why?! Why did it matter so much what she thought of him?

Rosh sat down, looking back at his days with Jaden. She was always so strong. She was someone he could never compare to. But just thinking about her and the strength she had made him feel… okay. Especially when she smiled at him. That rare sight alone quelled his nerves just long enough before the memory of her anger with him took over once more. _**Why**_ did it hurt?! It pestered him to no end as to why! The woman who captured his thoughts almost all the time, whether it be because of her strength, her knowledge, her quiet nature, her different kind of beauty…

That last thought was a little strange. Rosh never looked at her that way… at least not on purpose. But he did watch her a lot trying to see if there was a way to one up her. He would wonder where she would draw her strength from. Every time though, he never found his answer. It was frustrating being in the shadow of his best friend. And yet, he still wanted to be around her. Was he dependent on her? Was he trying to find a moment for her to slip up? Whatever the reason, he was staying by her against his anger.

At least until that fight happened.

It started with him saying "Good luck, call me if you need any help", and it ended with Rosh being force pushed into a wall. After that, all bets were off. His anger just wouldn't let up on her, and it distracted him enough to get captured. With his back to a wall and a blaster in his face, he gripped onto his fear of death to motivate him to make it out alive. But once the offer to be stronger was revealed to him, Rosh didn't hesitate another second.

However, when he fought Jaden… she surpassed him anyway. He didn't have hesitation until she reached out to him with that naïve belief that he was still one of her own. He still can't understand why in that instant he hesitated, almost like she had this hold over him. His new allies broke the hold though. But even so, he still failed in comparison to her. Then came the memory of her anger. The discomfort and pain came back making it impossible to move on to another though. What did all this mean?

He thought back to that spy… would he understand what's going on? There was a hesitation to talk to him; Rosh was a Sith apprentice after all. He shouldn't be talking to an enemy unless he was getting information out of him… but this was just too much to sit on his own. With his mind made up, Rosh took the risk. He made his way to the prison hold, while avoiding Alora and Tavion, and finally came face-to-face with the spy. The man seemed very calm with a sarcastic air of welcome upon seeing Rosh. "What gives me the honor to be with a Sith apprentice today?"

Rosh began telling him everything he had to say, which the Republic spy listened intently. By the time Rosh had let everything out in the open, the spy laughed. "From what it sounds like, you have a strong attachment to this girl. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've got a crush on her." Rosh turned red, unsure of what to say in this moment. Finally the only phrase that came to him was: "You can't be serious…"

The spy nodded, "That red face of yours just confirmed it."  
Rosh gave him a slight annoyed looked as the spy continued, "I think the reason you're so thrown off is because of how you feel about her and how you feel about yourself." Rosh seemed lost, "Wait so, what are you trying to tell me?" The spy sighed, "You don't know what you want and that's why you're having a power struggle. You say this Jaden girl is stronger than you… you seem lost as to why that is since you've exhausted every angle of the situation?" Rosh nodded, "She doesn't question how she feels right?" Rosh let out a small chuckle, "You have no idea."  
"Well then," The spy went on, "If she's kept true to herself, there's only one answer as to where she draws her strength from."

Rosh began to process the man's theory, "… The light side of the force?" The spy smiled.

"Oh please, that's nonsense!" The two young men turned to see Tavion, "If this love sick pup wishes to believe that, then he's useless to me!" Rosh felt a great hesitation at Tavion's presence. That fear he felt at his first meeting with her came rushing back to him.

The spy was right, he had been confused this whole time. His feelings were so clouded, he didn't know how to tell the difference. But in this very moment, he understood for once what he was feeling. Rosh inhaled deeply, and with new found confidence he stood up to face his dark master, "I do believe it." He muttered, "It's the only thing that makes sense! Jaden defeated me, multiple disciples, even Alora without breaking a sweat!" Tavion seemed unimpressed. "If you say she's all powerful, maybe I should have prayed on her weakness instead of taking you in. She would be a powerful ally to us."

"Jaden wouldn't even think twice about joining you." Rosh said. Tavion let out a laugh, "And you honestly believe she can resist the dark side? Especially all the anger she has after what _you_ did to her. I wouldn't be surprised if she joined us with great haste!"

"She won't." Rosh said flatly, ready to grab his lightsaber. Tavion noticed the gesture and quickly pulled the hilt away from him. She flicked the blade on and held the tip of the blade towards his neck. "So suborn, aren't we? Then why don't we find out how powerful she really is." "No," Rosh snapped, "I won't test my friend." _Not after everything I've already done to her. I can't forgive myself for allowing that to happen to her!_

Tavion smirked, "Well then…" with the force running through her, she slammed Rosh to a wall, "Listen well Rosh, I don't plan on you refusing me because you have some school boy crush. Even if you seemed to have denounced the dark side, I can still use you one last time or just kill you now."

A surge of life came back into Rosh at that very moment as he shouted, "Then do it! I'm not afraid anymore!"  
"Maybe not of me, but most defiantly of Jaden. You fear her turning to the dark side, rejecting you…" Tavion turned her attention to the spy who was still watching from his cell. With a quick gesture, the spy was in a force choke hold. "Let him go!" Rosh shouted. Tavion turned her attention back to him, "Then prove me wrong. I plan on making her my new apprentice, yet you say she won't fall so easily. Let's put that theory to the test, or your new friend will die. Make your choice!" Rosh could hear the small cracking noises from the spy's throat. Everything inside him was a war. He had to save the spy, but he couldn't risk Jaden turning… After a short amount of time to think, Rosh made his choice.

"Okay… I'll do it…" Those words were heavy in the air.  
"Excellent." At that moment, Tavion released the spy and left. The spy desperately gasped for air. As for Rosh, he was feeling a tightness in his chest. He became almost unmovable and lightheaded. He was about to face his friend again…


	3. From Worse to Better

A/N: This is the fight I mentioned before in the previous chapter. Not much need to be said on it besides it being a three part one shot.  
The first happens right before Jaden goes to Hoth and Rosh goes to Byss. Then the other bit is after Jaden returns from Vijunn. The final part is the resolve of their fight right before the very last scene of the game. The end is not the best, but I tried. So let's just jump right in! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Good luck, call me if you need any help." Rosh smirked proudly as he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. Jaden brushed off his hand and suppressed a scoff. She began to walk away, aggravation radiating from her being. "What?" Rosh asked in that jesting voice of his. Jaden rubbed her temple, "Sorry if I'm not taking this as lightly as you are." She said trying to hold back her annoyance. The two began to head back to their rooms to prepare for their assignments.

When something serious like this happens, you better believe Jaden was a no-nonsense kind of girl. Especially when Rosh started pushing her buttons for his own stupid amusement. Rosh, on the other hand, saw this almost like a game that the masters finally saw fit for him to play by himself. And he had no intentions of letting Jaden's stuck up attitude ruin it!

"Now wait a second," Rosh said as they continued on their way, "I thought you would be excited about this too?"  
"Well I'm not." She said flatly, "This is a dangerous mission. Not some game." Jaden could easily see through her companion's foresight. He just didn't get the gravity of this situation. So, it might be best to start pointing it out. Rosh was caught off guard at that moment, but wasn't about to let that stop him. "I know that!" He protested, "It's a _real_ mission for once! Wou-"  
Jaden whirled around to face Rosh but kept moving. "What do you mean 'for once'?! That just because we're risking our lives even more than usual means that everything else we did was completely pointless?!" Jaden had stopped, mostly because she had reached her destination.  
"Hey, that's not what I meant at all." Rosh put up his hands defensively, "I'm only saying that this is the first mission the Academy trusts us with."

' _Here we go again.'_ Jaden thought, _'With Rosh's over vamped idea of what Jedi students are supposed to do.'_ But something seemed a little different in the manner of which Rosh was speaking. Jaden's eyes narrowed, "Trust us? What are you talking about, exactly?" Rosh seemed rather surprised by Jaden's question. You mean, she didn't see it? "I'm talking about how they keep holding us back. How they never let us do the real work. Haven't you noticed?" Jaden glared. She had heard this all before from him, but this time seemed more driven for some reason. "We're students Rosh," She said rather tersely.

"But that doesn't mean we have to be treated like little kids!" Rosh snapped. Jaden shook her head. Did he even hear half of the things he said? "The only one being a little kid right now is you! What will it take to make you realize being a Jedi is more than your delusional fancies of adventure?" Jaden tried to hold back the venom in her voice, but she couldn't help it. Sometimes you had to call a spade a spade. Jaden could tell Rosh was really agitated now. And it was true, Rosh had just about lost it.

"So what, you agree with them?!" He gritted his teeth. Jaden kept that frown on her face, "I don't know about _them_ , but I do know that you're acting like an arrogant child." A tightness become apparent in Rosh's chest. And it was made rather obvious that he wasn't at all happy to hear this coming from his closest friend. As for Jaden, it felt pretty sweet to tell Rosh off… even if it was just a fleeting moment. There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind saying maybe she went too far, but she wasn't going to take back those words now.  
"I'm arrogant?!" Rosh fumed, "What about you? Little miss perfect who thinks she's better than everyone else?!" Jaden scowled, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me! What's wrong? Can't face the truth?!" He snarled with a hint of satisfaction.  
Jaden was seeing nothing but red (and Rosh's stupid face). "You don't know what _I_ think!" She shouted, trying to control herself. "Deny all you want! You'll see I'm right eventually."

That last line was the final straw.

Without thinking, the force leaked through Jaden's hands as she slammed him against the wall. Rosh's body made a loud _smack_ upon impact. Once that sound reached Jaden's ears, her anger dissolved into horror as she realized what she had done. Rosh began to moan as the pain started to settle. But before anything could be said, Jaden had moved to lock herself in her room. This was _bad_! Jaden left her back to the door as she sunk to the floor. She heard a knock. "Jaden?" It was Rosh, "Jaden. Open the door…" It was hard to tell if he was speaking with anger or remorse.

Jaden refused to move, unsure if she was able to trust herself after that reaction. If they broke into another shouting match, there was no telling what she'd do to him. "What will it take to get you to come out?" Rosh called. Jaden held her breath for a moment, "Just go away!"

"Ugh, fine!" Jaden felt Rosh kick the door _hard_ and listened as his footsteps slowly disappeared. Jaden was all but ready to pull her hair out. She didn't need this right now! Not when they both had to put themselves at risk. She took a deep breath. She had to get a grip, had to focus. She would apologize to Rosh later and they would get over this.

After taking another deep breath, she got up and focused on getting ready.

* * *

Out of habit, Jaden went to check on Rosh by going to his room. She heaved a heavy sigh once entering. She wanted nothing more than to walk away, but lacked the strength to leave. She gazed around the messy room to fill the harassing feeling of loneliness in the back of her mind. That was when something caught her attention: a datapad tucked under Rosh's bed. Out of sheer curiosity, Jaden picked it up, but after reading the first few words she had to stop.

It was Rosh's journal…

Jaden paused for a moment, then continued reading. Most of it was his constant impatient attitude in training. Some of his adventures with Kyle were written in complete detail, with a few negative comments. Then she stumbled upon a section about her. _'This can't be good.'_ She thought, but she read on. It seemed like Rosh had Jaden memorized in his writings. How she behaved, how she spent her time, how she spared, you name it, it was all there. The strange part about all this was how Jaden couldn't tell if Rosh was being mean or sincere. And the stranger part was Rosh made it clear he didn't know either.

That was until she reached the last entry before he left for Byss, when they had their fight.

 _I don't get what Jaden's problem is! Why can't she see how their holding us back?!  
I can't believe she called me a child! I can't believe she even agrees with them!  
It's all because she thinks she's better than everyone, she always has.  
She'll never understand! She just like the others, completely happy with submission. _

_I hate her! Her and everyone else!_

Jaden scoffed. This is what he thought?! "Hindsight is 20-20." She said bitterly, "I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised. But I was foolish enough to believe in you…" Jaden looked over the last passage one last time. Force, how could she have been so stupid!? Rosh turning was something she could have prevented. Jaden shoved the datapad back under the bed and put her head to her knees. "So much for apologizing afterwards." And just what the hell could Rosh be doing now? The idea of Rosh working with Tavion and Alora was uncomfortable, unnerving even. That someone she was so close to at one point was now her enemy. Jaden could feel her jaw clench just thinking about it all. There was no way she was going to let him surprise her again! The next time she saw him, she wouldn't be scared, she wouldn't be naïve, and she most certainly wouldn't hold back!

Jaden's head shot up instantly at that last thought. Kyle's words echoed in her mind: _'You may be a Jedi Knight now, but you still have to beware the dark side.'_ If that's the case where was the limit of her anger? Was she not justified to defeat Rosh, even to the point of killing him? What would make his death any different from killing Tavion and Alora? Jaden shook her head. All she could do was be strong enough to keep him from causing any more trouble. But you better believe she wasn't planning on getting fooled by him again! With that final thought, Jaden got up and left Rosh's room.

* * *

As Kyle and Master Skywalker remained on Korriban to round up the remaining cultists, Jaden didn't waste any time getting back to the Academy. She had to see Rosh, she _had_ to! Kyle may have said Rosh was fine, but she needed to see it for herself. Her ship couldn't move fast enough. She might have crash landed had she not got a hold of herself once entering Yavin 4's atmosphere. Her ship had landed safely and Jaden practically burst out of the cockpit just to get to the infirmary. Jaden was practically two steps outside the door when she froze.

What was she going to say to Rosh? After everything that's happened, was she just going to say 'hi'? Of all things! 'Hi'?! What good would that do?

She bit her lip, hesitating to enter. All unaware that Rosh was wide awake and completely conscious of the fact that Jaden was stuck outside the door. He was eager to talk to her. There was so much he finally figured out, so much he wanted to know from her, that it was almost aggravating that the only thing preventing their meeting was a closed door. What could possibly be keeping her? Well, he wasn't planning on waiting. "Jaden? Is that you?" He called out. Jaden got tense, and Rosh could feel it. There was no waiting now. She had to open the door. She couldn't let this fear get the best of her. She took a deep breath and answered, "Yeah, it's me…" She waved the door open and walked it.

She tried to find the words to say, but the only thing that could escape her lips at that moment was: "Hi." Jaden mentally slapped herself for not thinking of something better. However, Rosh took it really well with a smile and responded with a "Hey."

Jaden kept opening and closing her mouth. Clearly she wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. Rosh on the other hand, was about ready to speak.

"Jaden?"  
"Hmm?" Clearly she didn't trust herself to be articulate.

"About… about what's happened…" Rosh sighed, "I was stupid… maybe, none of this would have happened if I hadn't been that way."  
Jaden took the seat next to Rosh's cot. "You can't mean that. The cultists existed before you joined them-"

Rosh shook his head, "They wouldn't have targeted you had I not drawn attention to you. You wouldn't have been tempted, because of me. You were put in harm's way… all because of me."  
Jaden put a hand on Rosh's arm, the cybernetic one, "That's the cost of being a Jedi. Especially if it means saving a friend." "A friend who shouldn't have been there in the first place." Rosh said bitterly. Jaden clenched her fists. "Stop that." She said flatly. Rosh was taken off guard by her tone. Her hands were shaking as she continued, "Stop talking like this was _all_ your fault. It couldn't have been _all_ your fault! I had something to do with that too. If I hadn't… If I had just apologized for that fight. I… _WE_ could have prevented all of this between us!"

That was it. The words finally came to her. She finally told him. Rosh didn't know what to say. But he was certain Jaden wasn't going to let him walk away with the full blame. "You really think so, huh? All because of a fight?" "More than that." Jaden answered, "Being too proud and scared to just say sorry."

There was a pause between the two of them. "So, I guess what I'm trying to say is…" Jaden sighed, "Rosh, I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am for that fight. For… pushing into a wall," Jaden started to turn red while Rosh just chuckled, "For locking you out instead of talking through it. Everything." Rosh nodded, "I'm sorry too. For picking on you for when you were upset, for being angry with you when you called me out of my faults. And…" He looked right into her eyes, "for being angry with you because you were better than me. You never deserved that."

Rosh had more to say, but the words were caught in his throat. Somehow… he just knew this wasn't the time for that. "I guess that's it then." Rosh said, "Unless you have some ground breaking news I need to know?" He said back to his jestering ways. Jaden smiled, _I guess not_ all _of Rosh has to change right away._


	4. Between Anger and Forgivness

A/N: Alright, I'm going to be plain and honest with you all. This snippet is me venting about certain events that happened between me and someone else and what I WISH I could have said to them. Maybe I'm just trying to see who is right, and who is over reacting. (Basically you guys are getting my personal therapy session. Sorry…)

I have no clue where this takes place. I tried to make it universal so you can choose where it goes.

* * *

Jaden tried to remain in control. She had to remain poised and calm. There was no room at this moment to look upset or angry. But right now, she felt backstabbed by Rosh. They were friends… or at least they were supposed to be. After all, _she_ was the one who would always give him the benefit of the doubt. _She_ was the one who always gave him a second chance. _She_ was the one who continually welcomed him back over and over again. However, in this moment after what he had just done, all his mistakes just piled up and left a large glaring wall of disgust in front of her. This last incident had gone too far.

Those little mistakes she thought she could look over, until he yelled at her. He treated her with ugly disrespect, and she wasn't going to stand for it! And his apology? What a joke! Jaden wanted to hear, "sorry for my cruel and wrong doings" or "I'm sorry for everything I had done". Of course, that didn't happen! What did she get?!

"I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"And?"

Rosh was dumbfounded. This little round-about conversation went on several times before Jaden quit and walked out. If she wasn't going to get what she should have heard, she wasn't going to hear anymore of Rosh. He always caused trouble, didn't listen, and now… he mistreated her. If he wanted to give her a proper apology after this, she wouldn't take it. She didn't need that kind of negativity in her life. As far as everyone was concerned, Rosh was no longer Jaden's friend, and he MOST CERTAINLY was no longer allowed near her or any of her property!

She was finished with him.

Jaden's turmoil must have not been hidden really well, because as she was alone in meditation to try and swallow all this anger, Kyle came up to her.  
He sat down to face her. "I think we need to talk." He said calmly. Jaden did her best to appear neutral. "About what?"  
"About your thoughts on Rosh. He would like to apologize to you." Kyle said flatly. Jaden suppressed a groan before responding. "To put it simply," She said, "I'm done with him. I don't want him anywhere near me, or my ship, or anywhere else I happen to be."  
Kyle shook his head, "You do know he's your partner as you both train under me. You can't just avoid him."  
Jaden shook her head, "Doesn't his performance also affect you as a master? Are you not worried about the image that leaves you with?"  
Kyle nodded, "It does. But I'm not willing to give up on him so quickly as you are." Ouch. That left Jaden ego in a damaged state.  
"You could just as easily ask Master Skywalker to assign him to someone else. No one's feelings would get hurt. Wouldn't that be better?" Jaden tried to salvage what was left of her point.

Kyle listened intently, understanding where she was coming from. He knew she had been hurt, and that she hadn't been treated fairly. Sadly, she only saw this from her perspective. Because Jaden was so young, she still had much to learn. But even he could remember times where he thought pushing away someone who had wronged him regardless of how those around him were affected by it was the best option. Jaden was in a difficult spot, and she was sure stubborn about it. This was all Jaden believing that the only way to be happy was to cut off who or what treated you badly. And in most aspects, she had every right to believe that.

"Jaden, you have every right to be angry. You may even have every right to hold this grudge against Rosh-"

"It's not a grudge! It's keeping my own peace! It's justice, really! His behavior is unacceptable! And I can't believe your defending him! Even if he treats one of your other students badly, you're still okay with him!?" Jaden snapped. Kyle on the other hand wasn't impressed. "That's not what I see, Jaden. I see you believing this is the right thing to do because it causes less pain. But with the situation you're in, how closely tied you are to Rosh, do you really believe you can push him away so easily?"

Jaden looked away, "I can and I will."

Kyle urged her a little more, "And what if the time comes when you're both on a mission, or you're in a life or death situation and he's the only one there. How will shutting him out help?"  
"You're ignoring the fact that you could just as easily ask for another apprentice. That's something you can consider too." Jaden chided.  
"That's a very selfish viewpoint, if you ask me." Kyle put his hand up before Jaden could interrupt again. "I fear you are more focused on pressuring me to get what you want." Jaden shot him an angry and confused look, "I'm not pressuring you! I'm just saying you should think about what you're doing. Do you want this discourse between your students?"  
"Of course not. I-"

"They why would you want to promote it?!" Jaden stormed, "The easiest solution here is to assign Rosh to someone else! So why aren't you doing it?"  
"The _easiest_ solution I see here is for you to put your anger away and allow you and Rosh to talk about this." Kyle said sternly.  
Jaden crossed her arms, "And if I refuse?"  
Kyle shrugged, "I guess I could reassign you."

There was a pin-drop silence before she responded, "You wouldn't do that! I know you wouldn't do that! After how far I've come, after all you've done to teach me?! How do I know this isn't just you taking Rosh's side?"  
Kyle shook his head, "From what I see, you want to keep yourself separated from him. What _easier_ way to do that than reassign you? Seeing as I can't keep you from lingering towards the dark side-"

"Wait!" Jaden said, "What are you talking about? I'm not lingering towards the dark side."  
"Yes you are. You're keeping anger towards Rosh without dealing with it properly. Holding a grudge is holding anger. Perhaps you should consider for a second how you're acting before you condemn someone else. Maybe that's something _you_ should think about." Kyle got up and walked away.

Jaden grit her teeth, unsatisfied with what she was just told. A few thoughts creeped into her mind… maybe Kyle was right. Maybe she was... _possibly_ being a _little_ _bit_ selfish in her actions. Even if she felt justified in what she was doing. Was it really right to tear apart something else because of another mistake Rosh had made? What made this one different from the others that was do bad to forgive? But how much of this is Kyle taking Rosh's side? What if Kyle is not being himself and over reacting because of Rosh's influence?

She sat on those thoughts for a long time, never revealing her own mind.

But meanwhile, Kyle came back to his other pupil. Rosh's eyes were wide with anticipation. Would he be able to say he's sorry? Can he and Jaden set this right? Kyle only shook his head. Rosh was disheartened. "Just give it time Rosh. She can't push you away forever." Rosh nodded silently as Kyle went about his business.


	5. Homecoming

A/N: This is part two of a story arc I keep going back and forth on because I keep changing not only the ending but the length. But I really liked how this one chapter in particular came out. As for weather or not I update the first part as well as actually deciding on an ending has yet to be seen. However, your input just might change that. Let me hear your thoughts and take it from there.

* * *

With what little she had on her back, Jaden took a deep breath. She was about to face the woman she couldn't stand. But somehow, be it mother's intuition or the Force conspiring against her, Jaden's mother opened the door to set her eyes on her oldest child. Jaden had forgotten how grayed out her mother's hair was. Most mothers with kids about Jaden's age still had a bit of spry energy left in them, but with how much stress Jaden could sense she was under, it was clear she aged faster than all the others.

"My, my. My girl has finally shown back up after all this time." She said trying to pull her into a hug. Jaden didn't move. Her mother put her arms down. "I see, still as resistant as before. Fine, fine, fine! Let's just go inside before you start arguing with me about how everything's my fault!" She fussed as she ushered Jaden inside. Jaden placed her belongings down on the floor and sat down at the nearest seat.

Her mother followed closely behind her and once her child was seated, the mother asked, "Well, I heard you on that distance comlink channel, but now you can't speak?" Jaden rolled her eyes, "What would you want me to say mother?" Her aggravation was oozing from her voice. Her mother sat down across from her, "Well, maybe what's going through that head of yours? Especially with what's happened… happened to Alex." Jaden was actually caught off guard. Her mother had never really shown any care of her kids in front of her.

Jaden kept her cool demure. "Why do you care all of a sudden?" Her mother frowned, "Because I just lost two children, my _only_ children, in all but a few years. One to the Jedi, and the other to what's going to take me soon." Jaden blinked, "Wait, you're not…" Her mother sighed, "No Jaden… you won't be dancing on my grave just yet. But they've given me a warning."  
 _So that's it_ , Jaden thought sourly, _once you find your mortality then you start to change…_

Jaden sighed, "Well… to be honest, this came out of nowhere… I never imagined… I mean I didn't think…" Jaden couldn't find her words, "To happen to him… it not fair!" Her mother came up and tried her best to kneel next to her as Jaden started to tear up, "I'm the _Jedi_! If any one of us was going to go first, it should have been me!" Jaden's mother took her hand and said, "Child, listen. I know _exactly_ how you feel. It was unexpected. Sometimes fate just works like that so you'll understand that life is not always yours to control."  
"I never thought it was in my control," Jaden snapped, "I just thought… I thought it wouldn't be like this."

Jaden felt sick. It was bad enough her brother was gone, but now she was being vulnerable around her mother. The last time she did that was when she was a child, and all she got from her was a cold shoulder.

No. She was not going through that again. Jaden pulled her hand out of her mother's. Without a word, she got up from her seat and picked up her belongings. "I'm going to my room." She said quickly. She was hoping her mother would get the message and _not follow her_! For now, her mother obeyed and watched as Jaden exited into the next room. Jaden's mother sighed as the door slid shut, but Jaden didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to hear any more for her. As Jaden found her way to her room, a wave of nostalgia hit her, as the memories overwhelmed her. It felt wrong to be back here, she out grew it after all...

She almost expected Alex to just walk in on her like he always did. That was when it really hit her. Alex was gone. He wasn't coming back. He was never coming back. In the next day or so, they would be putting him six feet under. There was nothing she could have done. Nothing she could do to bring him back. And that was the reality she had to face.

She needed to get this out, but the only person at home she would go to was Alex. An idea did cross her mind. Jaden bit her lip and wavered on that thought. It couldn't hurt to talk to him right? But what if she interrupted him at a bad time. She made a quick calculation as to what time he was at. They should roughly be on the same time set… Jaden's eyes went to her small pack. She sighed, she had to talk to someone. Without hesitation, Jaden reached into her pack and pulled out a holocommunicator.

The communicator flashed to life. The image of Jaden's friend came into view. "Hey Jay." He said.  
"Hey Rosh." Jaden said. It didn't take much for Rosh to figure out something was wrong. Jaden doesn't call for just a chat. "Are you alright? Did something happen?" Jaden sighed. Yup, Rosh could read her like a book. With a heavy and confused heart, Jaden informed him of what was happening. Rosh listened intently, trying to give his best advice. It's not easy to help heal an ailing friend from a distance. Jaden didn't offer much of how she was feeling, at least at first. There were a few moment of where she let herself be open. But it was enough to get through to him.

Their conversation would have gone longer, but Rosh was being called away by the academy. "I'll get in touch with you soon. Okay?" He offered her a smile. She returned it, all be it a little sadly. "Alright. Thanks." The communicator dimmed and Jaden put it away. In that next moment, the door to her room swished open. Although Jaden hoped it was Alex, she knew it couldn't be. Her mother stood in the door way with a suspicious look. "Who were you talking to?" "A friend." She said flatly. Her mother staid quite for the moment. "Just a friend?" She asked rather harshly. Jaden nodded. "And… not like that Barron boy?" Her mother's voice was gentle. "No." Jaden said keeping her eyes away from her mother. Her mother looked around her daughter's room. Finally she said, "You know he'll try and come once he hears you're back…" Jaden shuttered at that comment. Her mother came closer to her, "Jaden… I want you to know, we may have our differences, but I swear I will do _everything_ in my power to keep him away from you."

Jaden clenched her fists. She tried to get control of herself. A powerful form of anger wanted to lash out, but she knew better than that. Weather it was to save face or just to play nice, Jaden and her mother refused to let others know what happened. That was something, even Alex, took to the grave. Jaden hadn't notice her mother took her hands. Jaden looked at her as her mother said, "I'll do what I can. I promise."


	6. Ordinary Day, Extraordinary Company

A/N: This is just some fluffy, more slice of life kind of chapter so if you don't like these kinds of things you don't have to read this one. I just want to break the melodramatic chapters I've been writing. This one takes place after the events of Jedi Academy (with the light side ending). This one has been sitting on my computer for a while now, so might as well up load it.

* * *

It was one of _those_ days.  
An annoying day where it seemed like the entire galaxy had gone quiet. There was no big bad Sith to deal with, no Mandalorian thugs to fight off, no obscure nonsensical rift in the Force that could cause the end of the galaxy as we know it. It was just… a day.

Normally, someone (say a certain Jedi) whose life was constantly put on the line and always teetering towards death would actually be relieved to have a day like this. But Rosh Penin _wasn't_ that certain Jedi. He just couldn't see how most of the other students embraced this day with incredible ease. Take his best friend Jaden for instance, tucked away in that corner over there. How the heck could she stay so still and focused on days like this?

"Because introverts enjoy days like this." She said not taking her eyes of whatever she was reading.  
"Pfff, you're hardly an introvert Jay." Rosh retorted.  
Jaden shook her head, "Says the idiot I hang out with the most."

"Hey!"

Jaden let out a laugh. Rosh had a weird way of looking at the galaxy. Practically because he didn't get how some people worked. Why hadn't he scared her away yet? Because they were friends, and Jaden was a little too quiet to make much of those? Well whatever the reason, she'd let him get that close. It was always a mystery why though: maybe because she didn't want to deal with loneliness, maybe because she knew not too many people wanted to deal with Rosh, or perhaps there was a reason she just couldn't name. Either way, days like this Jaden could enjoy. No life threatening tasks, no drug lords to arrest, and for the love of Force, no need to be wary of betrayals!

That thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. _That_ _day_ was awful to remember. There was still a small wound that festered every once in a while, especially when she lingered on _it_. You would think after only a couple of months the hatchet would be buried and done. But even if Rosh became more patient and humble, he still had this aggravating nature to him and it bothered Jaden to no end. Seriously, why did she stick around him?

"Maybe because you can't resist my undeniable charms." He mused.  
Jaden rolled her eyes, "You're full of it." _And stay out of my head!_ She thought half-jokingly.  
 _Only when you stay out of mine_. He thought back.  
Jaden sent her focus back to reading. Leaving Rosh to find his own amusement. That was something else they would do a lot of: sharing thoughts.

Maybe that was another reason they were stuck together. Their shared minds. Not memories, though. But frankly, Jaden didn't want to share her past, and she could guess that Rosh didn't want to share his. So really, they were both blank slates.  
 _Would you call that another reason we stay friends?_ Rosh thought.  
 _I thought we agreed to stay out of each other's heads._ Jaden teased.

"Then I'll ask out loud." Rosh said, "Do you think us being blank slates is a reason we stay friends?" Seeing as Jaden wasn't going to get any farther in her book at this point, she sighed, put the book down and went ahead to sit next to him. "I guess. If there's nothing there, there's nothing to judge."  
"So… our friendship is based on how we don't judge each other?" Rosh asked both out of humor and curiosity.  
Jaden only shrugged, "There could be more to our friendship than just that, but I'd say that's a big part of it."

"Alright, so the perfect friendship of Rosh Penin and Jaden Korr is mostly based off how much they don't judge each other. Sounds like a lasting one to me!" Jaden held in a laugh at Rosh's 'embellishment' of their relationship. "It has to be more than that though." She said. He smiled at her, "I take it you have some ideas as to what?" Jaden thought about it for a moment. She smirked at her answer. "How about nobody else can appreciate your jokes like I can?"  
Rosh snorted, "Well the 'joke' is on you, because I'm hilarious."

"Well, what about you then?" Jaden asked, "What do you think makes us friends?" Rosh took a deep breath and very seriously pondered Jaden's question. Why _did_ she hang out with him so much? Someone with her skills, popularity, wit could hang out with anyone she wanted. But she stuck with him.

He knew exactly why he spent so much time with her, though…

"Why's that?" Jaden asked. Rosh pouted at her, "What happened to staying out of the other's heads?"  
She blinked for a moment, "Right, sorry."

In all honesty, the more he thought about that the more anxious he became around her. But when that wasn't on his mind, when it was just unabridged, uncensored, fully and completely them… how could anyone explain it?

"I guess… it's just that… we work well off of one another."

She squinted at him. "Not that that doesn't make any sense, I think so too. But… isn't there something else you wanted to say?" Rosh began to sweat a bit. Was now a really good time to talk about this. Trying to dodge the question a bit he asked, "What do you mean?" Jaden smiled deviously, "You can't fool me Rosh Penin. You said you knew exactly the reason why you hung out with me." She pointed at him directly. Rosh placed his hand over hers to put it down. But he didn't remove his hand just yet, "So we're still at the whole sharing thoughts when we said not to." Jaden didn't move her hand from his grasp. "Well, I guess it slipped. But that shouldn't be an excuse. Come on, you can tell me."

Rosh looked down at his hand with Jaden's. He began playing with her fingers and was surprised to find she wasn't taking them back. Her hands were always so soft, yet so strong. To think that this was a hand that held a lightsaber, that could shoot lightning, was also a hand that wiped away tears of scared children, that healed injured teammates. It was extraordinary, she was extraordinary. "Do you really want to know?" He asked not taking his eyes away from their hands. "I do." She said taking a hold of his hand. Rosh felt his heart drop to his stomach. He finally faced her, seeing the seriousness in her eyes. He could feel his breath shortening. Was he really about to tell her?

"I-"

At the most inconvenient time, Rosh's commlink went off. "Rosh, I have a mission for you. Are you available?" Rosh slowly removed his hand from Jaden's. He tapped his commlink to reply, "Yes, Kyle. I am." The commlink buzzed in response, "Meet me in the academy ship yard so I can brief you on your mission." "Yes sir." He said clicking the commlink off and facing Jaden one more time.

"I…I have to go. I'll tell you another time." He said bitterly. Jaden had somewhat of a disappointed look on her face. "I understand. You better hurry, Kyle's waiting for you." Rosh nodded and walked out.

 _So much for telling her._ Rosh thought. _Maybe that's just the Force's way of saying she doesn't need to know I like as more than just a friend._

Jaden only looked down at her hand, remembering the feel of her friend's touch as her pulse started to came back to a normal rate.


	7. With What Gets Lost

A/N: The goal of this one is to be funny with a touch of sentimental. And establish another character that I can use later in these things. That being said, this one is REALLY short. (which is why it showed up so quickly).  
So, remember that nameless Jedi with the shaved head, black shirt and brown pants who Rosh talked to when he asked how his training was going? Of course you do! As far as this fanfic is concerned, his name is Corrin. Last name… um, Javrk? Sure. Corrin Javrik. (Sounds like Kannan Jarris to be honest…)

* * *

Jaden sighed. She was done. Completely done. This morning was going to drag into the afternoon and she would be kicking herself later for letting this happen, again! Corrin sat at a table watching her tear the community room apart. "I'm telling you Jaden, you should double check your room."  
Jaden kept at it. "It has to be here, though! It's _not_ in my room." Corrin only shook his head. As Jaden kept at her search, Rosh quietly entered and took a seat next to Corrin. "What is she doing?" He whispered to Corrin. The other student looked at him with a slight dead pan look as if to say, _'take a wild guess'_.

Rosh sighed, "Jaden, what are you doing?" The young Jedi stopped for a moment, looked over at her friend, sighed, then went right back to what she was doing. Force, this was going to be embarrassing! "I'm…I… misplaced my lightsaber…" she mumbled. "Wait, again?!" Rosh snorted, "Man Jaden, you ought to put a tracker on that thing with how much you keep losing it!"  
Jaden rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You said that last time." This is just what she needed: lose her lightsaber (again), and two of her friends picking on her about it. After turning over the last corner of the room, Jade sighed in defeat. Nope, not here either.

"No luck?" Rosh asked. Jaden shook her head. "Did you try your room?"  
"Yes."  
"Did you try the mediation area?"  
"Yes."  
"Class rooms?"  
"Yes."  
"Training area?"  
"Yes."  
Rosh gave a low whistle. "Wow. You haven't lost a 'saber this bad since Vijuun."  
Jaden frowned, "I dug that one back up though!"  
Rosh blinked before responding, "So where's that one?"  
Jaden looked away, slightly turning red at embarrassment. Rosh chuckled while Corrin slapped his hand over his eyes. "Force Jaden, even when you find it, you still lose it!" Rosh retorted.  
As Rosh's laughter died down, Corrin cleared his throat. "Okay, why don't we retrace your steps. When do you remember having it last?"  
Jaden took a deep breath. Alright, she could do this. She just had to remember when she last had it. Well, it's been on her hip for 90% of the time. The rest of that 10% it's usually…

"I'm so stupid…" She muttered. The two boys arched a brow. "I think I know where it is." She said marching off to her quarters. Corrin and Rosh chose to follow suit. She pushed a few things over in a drawer before pulling out her missing lightsaber. Sighing with relief she clipped it onto her belt. "I told you, you should've double checked your room." Corrin said. "Yes Corrin, you were right." Jaden answered with a tone somewhere between sincerity and annoyance. "Now if you boys will excuse me, I have to go see about a mission assignment." She headed off as the two young men stood in the hallway.

"You know," Rosh said, "It's nice to know even the 'infallible Jaden' has her hang ups." Corrin returned his comment with a furrowed brow. "Infallible? She's just a person, Rosh." Rosh shook his head. "That's not how the history logs will show it. All people will hear about this generation is how Jedi Knight Korr stormed Korriban with rest of the Academy and single handedly brought a galaxy wide cult to its knees. Those after us won't hear about the many times our friend Jaden kept losing her own lightsaber."  
" _Lightsabers_. Plural." Corrin quipped, "But yeah, I see your point. Then why not take this as something we can enjoy until we're history."  
"Yeah, it's just a shame people won't ever know about this."


	8. Dependent in the Dark

A/N: So, this is part of a whole story arc I want to write, but for now this is easier. I may continue it if you all like it. Also, I added two more characters (both of who's names are mention in the background of the game): Tiome, a Twi'lek, and Raltheron, a uh… I think a Kel Dor for now.

Let me know what you think and if I should keep going. Enjoy!

* * *

Jaden did her best to keep awake. It was her turn to keep watch over her team. She glanced around at each member. Corrin must have been exhausted considering how quickly he passed out after handing his shift off to Jaden. She sighed, Corrin was lucky in a lot of ways. His clever mind was the most noteworthy. Something Jaden couldn't come close to having! She was grateful to have someone like him on her side. Next was Tiome. If it was possible to balance looking ladylike and being a fierce warrior, Tiome mastered it. Her diplomacy was impressive, and her grace in battle was nothing to dismiss either. She took down Storm Troopers without breaking a sweat every time. Yet another gifted teammate to have. Speaking of teammates, Raltheron was no where to be seen. There was a small concern as for what he was up to, but she tried to not let it worry her too much. After all, he knew this planet better than any of them.

Jaden turned her attention to Rosh. Of all the teammates she had right now, Jaden deemed Rosh the strongest. No, not because of his physical strength. Though that was nothing to brush off either. Rosh's real strength came from the one thing he had over everyone else… the burden of knowing the dark side. It was one thing to be tempted by it, all Jedi do at some point in time. However, it was almost a mark of shame to the Jedi who fell. The Jedi teachings may be to welcome back with open arms those who fell and returned, but Jedi are still people after all. And people didn't shake off something like that so easily.

Rosh was often treated like a pariah, and Jaden could see it all the time. Even in this group. Jaden's eyes lingered on Tiome for a moment. Most of them didn't understand what kind of mark that left on Rosh. Hell, Jaden didn't even fully comprehend what Rosh dealt with. But Jaden made sure to not let that be the judge of their relationship.

" _So… our friendship is based on how we don't judge each other?"_

Jaden smiled, remembering that conversation. She never did get that answer from him. She shook her head and looked back to the makeshift fire that really needed to be tended. As she poked and stirred the dying embers, Jaden began to hear whimpering from behind her. She slowly turned her head around to see her friend shuttering and shaking in his sleep. He began to beg restlessly for the darkness to go away. Taking only a moment to look back at the fire before abandoning it, Jaden moved over towards Rosh and gently placed a hand on his back. She inhaled deeply and called upon the most calming thoughts through the Force to give to him. For the next few minutes, Rosh began to be more at ease, eventually, from what Jaden could tell, drifting off again.

She slowly moved her hand away only for Rosh to turn over towards her. He reached his hand out in her direction, and in a broken voice whispered, "Please don't leave me…"

Jaden was frozen in that moment. She hated him being stuck like this. Why did it hurt her so much to see Rosh suffering? After taking a moment to breathe, Jaden realized that Rosh was definitely asleep. But whatever he was dealing with was still affecting him. Jaden shook her head. It wasn't fair that Rosh still carried this burden, but more importantly, she thought it wasn't fair he had to carry this all on his own especially if it meant have nightmares or night terrors like this, with the judgmental eyes of his allies always on him, being considered last for input, all of it. And all because he made one mistake. He hardly did anything wrong when he fell, at least that Jaden knew of. Force, she almost _killed_ him. But she got hailed as a hero and him the lowly outcast who still needed redemption. And how long would it be until the others finally gave that to him… if they would even give that to him. Well, if the whole galaxy chose to be against Rosh, then Jaden would stand by him.

Just as Jaden was about to take Rosh's hand, she heard the sound of a twig snapping from behind. She shot her head in that direction only to find Raltheron returning from… whatever he was doing.

Jaden sighed in relief, "Raltheron, you scared me." Raltheron stifled a laugh. "Sorry didn't mean to interrupt your lover's union. I had to pick up a few things." Jaden stiffened for a moment, "Lover's union?"

Raltheron smothered another laugh. "Honestly, you two are adorable." He said as he began to approach her while reaching for something in his belt, "But as cute as your denial is, I'm going to have to cut it short." After saying that, Raltheron clapped a hand on the back of Jaden's neck when she felt a pinprick jolt. As Jaden reached for the source of pain she began to feel woozy. "Raltheron…" She mumbled, "What are you…"

And she collapsed.


	9. Dependent in the Dark part 2

A/N: Hey, I finally got around to writing the next part! Basically, when I got feedback to continue I went over the story idea multiple times before correcting it completely and now should be able to continue.

Alright, quick explanation: The Jedi team were sent to be a part of Republic negotiations with a land dispute over some supposed Mandalorian group who were causing a bit of a ruckus lately.

I feel like this one took forever! Apologies in advance if it's not my best work. I just wanted to get this rolling again!

* * *

Rosh shuttered for a moment as Corrin shook him awake. The boy lulled over as he blinked a few times before slowly waking up. "Corrin?" He said rubbing his eyes, "Wasn't it supposed to be Jaden's shift after yours?"  
"Precisely the problem." Corrin frowned and pointed to the other side of the camp. Rosh cocked his head before turning it over to where Corrin directed him. The moment he clasped eyes on the situation, he immediately knew what was wrong. He turned back to Corrin quickly, "Where's Jaden and Raltheron?"  
"That's what I was wondering." Corrin said placing a hand on his chin, "It couldn't have been an ambush, because why would they only take two of us?"  
Rosh shook his head in response, "Well they didn't just get up and walk away. Not without waking one of us up first to watch and let the others know what they were planning on doing."

By this point, Tiome began to rise from her sleep. She yawned before taking in her situation. She squinted at the space that was devoid of Raltheron and Jaden. Tiome then slowly turned her head to glare at the two boys, more so at Rosh than Corrin. "Does someone want to fill me in on what happened?" Corrin clapped his hands together, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "That's exactly what we are trying to do." "So, you mean to tell me," Tiome snapped, "That two of our companions are missing, and nether of you have any idea as to what happened to them?"  
Rosh could feel a surge of anger inside him. "Oh, I'm sorry." He began, "I didn't know it was our job to keep track of everyone's whereabouts while you were asleep. When did we become Jaden and Raltheron's keepers?"  
Tiome cocked a brow. "Funny, you always act like Jaden's keeper. I just assumed you thought that about yourself." Rosh was about to retort when Corrin put his hand up. "Enough, both of you. I understand this situation is far from ideal but berating someone who is on the same side as you, doesn't solve the problem."

"You're right about one thing," Tiome replied, "This situation is far from ideal. But Rosh hasn't proven he's still on our side yet. It's his first mission out since he abandoned the order." Corrin glared before responding in a cool tone. "He'll never be able to prove himself if you keep dismissing him like this. I would assume a Jedi of _your training_ would know we're supposed to be compassionate before assuming someone of being guilty with no evidence first."

Tiome huffed, "Very well Corrin. What do you suggest we do?"  
Corrin flashed a crooked smile, before turning to Rosh, "What do you think happened?" It wasn't that hard to sense Tiome was fuming at this point. Rosh paid no mind to it. Right now, he had to focus. Jaden's life… and Raltheron's could be on the line. They had already ruled out ambush and casual leaving. If you only target one… then the other might have followed.

Rosh snapped his fingers. "What if only one of them was captured, and the other went after them!" "Well if one of them was captured," Tiome interjected, "then the captors must have been pretty stealthy for only one of us to notice."  
Corrin shrugged, "Well were we not sent to negotiate with some elusive Mandalorians? Rosh's theory does have some merit Tiome."

Tiome gave no response. Rosh on the other hand chose to speak up. "I think we should investigate. See if maybe we can find out where the others are. They couldn't have left too long ago."  
Corrin shook his head, "I don't know, Rosh. I think maybe we should check in the Republic base like we were supposed to. Plus, they may have the resources we need to tell us more about these Mandalorians."

"But what if we don't have that kind of time!" Rosh pestered. "What if… what if I just scout out for a bit and see if I find any trace of them. If I find anything, or not, I'll report back to the Republic and tell you so."  
Corrin seemed to be wavering on the idea. Before he could give his answer though, Tiome spoke up. "You aren't just going to let him go, are you? With no one to watching him? If he's doing that, you or I better go with him to keep him in line!"

Before Rosh could say anything in retort, Corrin answered. "I'll go meet with the Republic first. You two can scout out. When the sun rises, or you find out what happened to Jaden and Raltheron, you turn around and head back to the Republic." He stared down at Rosh, "Do _not_ engage the enemy. Do you understand?"

The two nodded in unison before facing each other and glaring. The three Jedi gathered their things and prepared for their impromptu missions. No one chose to say anything. If Tiome could be right about anything in this moment, it would be that this situation was far from ideal. Regardless, a Jedi never could pick and choose their situations, only the way to respond to it. The only way these students saw it fit was to stay silent and hope this ended quickly. As Tiome and Rosh followed the track, both silently resented the other being there. Neither could see how the other thought they were in the right. However, meandering in their own thoughts was the perfect ground to be preyed upon.

In the next instant, a Mandalorian leaped from behind to take out the unsuspecting twi'lck. "Look out!" Rosh shouted, igniting his lightsaber and pushing Tiome out of the way. The Mandalorian's cuff met with Rosh's yellow blade before the blade cut through. A Mandalorian word was shouted. If Tiome had to guess, it was probably a swear seeing as the warrior curled inward with his how stump of an arm. Tiome shook off her daze and got back in the action.

Igniting her green saber, Tiome deflected blaster blot after blaster blot from her foes, trying to redirect them to their origins. Fast style always came natural to her, which was why she could deflect and redirect all day if she wanted to. As the twi'lck distracted most of the men, Rosh was quick to cut them down piece by piece. When the last man fell, Rosh turned towards Tiome, dismissing his blade. His gaze turned to glower fast. Tiome frowned and cocked her head in response.

"What? You help me and now you still hate me? Figured as much." She spat. "No." Rosh said flatly as he began to raise his hand up to her. Tiome crouched into a new fighting stance, ready to push his upcoming Force blast. Rosh's hand shot out and Tiome's hands went right to her throat…

But wait, she didn't feel his grip on her.

She stared at Rosh for a moment before slowly turning her head over her shoulder. There stood the last Mandalorian grasping desperately at his throat from Rosh's grip. Rosh, not losing his focus, began to walk up to his new captive. "Alright, you're going to tell us what happened to our friends. A Kel Dor and a human. They disappeared around here not too long ago."

Rosh loosened his grip on the Mandalorian. He began to chuckle in response, "You might as well stop trying to find your girl. The Kel Dor's loyalties are towards us." He said through his helmet. Without a second thought, Rosh tossed the Mandalorian off to the side and frowned. "Well, Corrin will be pretty pissed when he finds out what happened here. We better get back to the Republic." Tiome stared at her companion. After saving her life and coolly questioned his enemy, he still followed his orders to the expense of his abilities. It was startling. She wasn't quite sure what to make of this… Shaking off her confusion for the moment, "Ye… yeah. Let's go."


	10. Dependent in the Dark part 3

A/N: So, I get the feeling the way this little story arc is going, people are more interested in the interactions between Rosh and Jaden than any of the other characters (but I could be wrong).  
With that in mind I wish to ask my audience with a poll on my page. Please respond on how this story should end. Then I can get back to the usual antics! Yay!

* * *

Jaden was none too pleased to be cuffed and held hostage with a cheap cage by Mandalorians. Her headache was still lingering from whatever it was Raltheron injected her with.

Raltheron…

What was his connection with these Mandalorians anyway? Why did he hand her over to them? What did he get out of all this?

Thinking of how Raltheron betrayed her left a familiar pang of hurt she had only felt one other time before. She was furious at that feeling. A sarcastic bitter thought crossed her mind. Was she just destined to make friends with those who would backstab her later? It was stupid to think like that, but the repetition was too close for comfort. She looked down at her bindings. Pushing down the anger, she examined what held her. On the bright side, these would be easy to break out of. In a no short amount of time and a Force powered flick of her wrists, Jaden broke her bonds.

Steeling her nerves, Jaden scanned her surroundings. One Mandalorian with his back towards her right now. Probably had her key to freedom, and if not, he had to have something useful to break her out. Using the Force to enhance her abilities, she zipped up to the unaware Mandalorian and snaked her arm around his neck. The warrior struggled in her grasp but slumped within a few minutes. Sliding his body against the bars, Jaden lowered him to the ground and began to search his belt for anything that could help her.

Perfect! There was the key. Jaden was gone instantly. Though… maybe not before she locked up the Mandalorian first. Realizing she was now loose, Jaden took a deep breath and put her sudden spike of anxiety to work by keeping alert to who was near. The goal here was not to get caught, find her lightsaber, and get out of here!

Jaden thought back her eminent problem with managing the location of her lightsaber.

' _Well… two out of three would be easy_ ,' She grumbled inwardly. Jaden tired to pull herself together, before her headache came back with a vengeance. Sith Spit, she didn't need this right now! Trying to maintain focus without sharpening the pain in her head, Jaden kept to the back of the encampment trying to figure out where her blade would be hiding. Doing her best not to draw attention to herself, Jaden failed to notice that she was about to bump into Raltheron, who also seemed on edge.

Jaden quickly moved to a defensive stance. Raltheron, in response put his hands up. "Wait," he whispered, "I want to get out of this as much as you do. Just let me walk away, and you can get out of here." He said in a whisper. Jaden relaxed her stance a bit, "Get my lightsaber and we can leave together." Raltheron nodded sharply in response before dashing off to the center of the encampment. Jaden took this moment to put herself at ease and wait for Raltheron to return. Maybe that bitter thought from before was wrong, she could still rely on her teammates.

As Jaden waited, she began to hear an uproar from the center of the encampment. Keeping her guard up, she considered taking a slow and quiet escape. However, she still hoped that Raltheron would come back and they could make a break for it. But as the sound came closer Jaden knew that Raltheron was definitely not coming.

Unsure of what happened to Raltheron, Jaden had to make a choice. She did her best to creep closer to see what had become of her teammate.

"There she is!" A Mandalorian shouted before taking several shots at Jaden. She ducked in response and did what she could to make a quick escape. As she sprinted something wide and oddly heavy hit her from behind and she fell face first into the dirt. At that point she realized she was pinned down by a wired net. She struggled to escape, or at the very least flip over, as the warriors surrounded her. Jaden was able to prop herself up on her elbow when she saw Raltheron standing in the back of the pack, barely making eye contact with her.

If looks could kill, Raltheron would have been dead on the stop.

In the next instance, Jaden felt a searing amount of electricity run through her whole body before everything went black.

* * *

Corrin frowned the more he listened to Rosh and Tiome's report. He clasped his hands together and took a deep breath. "I explicitly told you not to engage the enemy. Was that too much to ask?" Corrin moaned. Rosh chose to not respond. Heaving a sharp sigh, Corrin put his head in a hand, "And you're telling me that you think Raltheron is working for the Mandalorians?" Rosh nodded. Corrin huffed, "And we still don't have any whereabouts on Jaden?"

Rosh clenched his fits, "I think… I think the Mandalorians have her."  
"Rosh." Tiome hissed.

Corrin was quiet, "From what you said, there's no telling that's true. They could have been talking about any girl. Unless someone walks in here and tells us otherwise." Just as those words escaped his lips Raltheron tumbled into the room, gasping for breath. Rosh and Tiome slowly turned their heads towards Corrin, giving him a did-you-know-this-would-happen look. Corrin, even more annoyed at this point, dismissed both their looks and went straight to Raltheron. He helped his fellow Jedi up and allowed for him to steady his breathing. "I'm sorry." Raltheron began, "I'm sure by now you know Jaden and I were missing this morning. That's because…" Raltheron had a hard time saying what happened next, "because I gave her to the Mandalorians."

"I knew it." Rosh muttered darkly. His voice grew louder, "So why? Why did you do it?"  
"The Mandalorians and I… have a complicated relationship. I… was one of them for the longest time. But Nurrik… ah, the current clan leader, had some kind of hatred for me. It never helped that I left to join the Jedi Academy, soon after…. But he, Nurrik, contacted me not to long ago. He said… he wanted Jaden, or my little brother would pay for it. I… I couldn't think of what else to do."  
Unlike Rosh in this moment, Corrin remained calm saying, "You didn't consider talking to one of us? We could have helped you." Raltheron shook his head, "Nurrik's not the patient type. I didn't really think I had enough time to pull something off."

"So what does Nurrik want with Jaden?" Tiome asked pointedly. Raltheron shook his head, "I have no idea." Corrin sighed, "Well now that we have a better idea of what's going on with these Mandalorians, maybe we can talk to Senator Tevv about this matter. Let's go."

As the others began to move, Rosh staid put. "Raltheron, can I speak to you alone for a second?" He said calmly. "Why do you want to do that?" Tiome asked, not quite ready to trust Rosh on something like this. Corrin placed a hand on Tiome's shoulder, somewhat understanding what Rosh was asking for. "Let's give them a minute Tiome." He turned to Rosh, " _Only_ a minute." He said flatly.

Rosh nodded as the other two left, albeit reluctantly. Once Raltheron and Rosh were alone, Rosh spoke in a low voice, "Was she hurt?"  
Raltheron chose not to speak.  
Rosh took a step towards Raltheron, "Did you _hurt her_?"  
"I… not directly." Raltheron muttered.

"What do you mean, 'not directly'?!" Rosh's voice grew, "Did you hurt her or not?!"

"I'm sorry Rosh. Because of me she was put in harms way." Raltheron whispered, unable to handle the anger seething off of his comrade. Rosh was finally face to face with Raltheron. In that moment, everything Rosh felt was anger. At Raltheron, for kidnapping his friend, at himself for letting this happen right under his nose, at the Mandalorians for hurting Jaden. Without holding back, Rosh swung his fist right into Raltheron's face, causing the Kel Dor to fall over. He wheezed for a moment before Rosh knelt down next to him and offered a hand. After helping him up Rosh spoke, "I know how it feels to do something you know is bad because your scared. I'm just glad you figured it out sooner than I did. We better do what we can now to help Jaden, and the Republic."

Raltheron looked at Rosh in bewilderment. "You're not mad?"  
"Oh, I'm pissed." Rosh said quickly, "But I know better than to act on that irrationally. You came back to fix this, and that's what matters. We better hurry though."

Raltheron nodded, glad to know he could have someone be honest with him at this point.


	11. Dependent in the Dark part 4

A/N: Happy Star Wars day! Also, I am so glad to be DONE with this story arc! I don't know if I would want to do another one of these, especially because I'm an idiot for not realizing sooner that fanfiction mobile doesn't show polls; which makes me wonder why that option is still available on the website? So because no one was able to give me an answer, I elected to power through the rest of the story instead of pulling a Hobbit and just have Jaden wake up with drive by exposition given to her.

Taking place after the meeting the with the Republic Senator, we reunite with our Jedi team.

* * *

Corrin sat with his fingers laced together, nose resting on top his knuckles. He took a deep breath, waiting for Rosh to voice his impatient remarks. To his surprise, his fellow Jedi remained calm. "What happens now?" Ros asked. No one said anything. Rosh sighed, he knew the situation was delicate but there had to be something they could do without upsetting negotiations. The Republic feared that if the Jedi questioned the Manadlorians upfront, it would cause them to be defensive and close communications.

Understandable.

The Republic wanted to help their fellow Jedi, but not without risking the greater good. Now the question remained, what were they going to do about Jaden? Corrin placed his hands in his lap. "We wait for the Republic to finish negotiations. Then we have to act independently to barter for Jaden." Raltheron scoffed, "Mandalorians don't barter. Or really, Nurrik doesn't." Corrin nodded, "Raltheron, you know these guys better than anyone here. What's the best way to go about getting Jaden back on their terms?" Raltheron was silent, pondering what would be the best course of action to take. Nurrik wouldn't take to kindly to them kidnaping what he rightfully stolen. They couldn't ask for Jaden back, now without giving something in return… or maybe?

"I think I have an idea." Raltheron announced.

* * *

The negotiations went as far as they could. It wasn't ideal, but the Mandalorians agreed to leave this planet alone, in exchange for another planet they could call home and not be bothered. It was a dicey situation since giving away a WHOLE PLANET was costly. But with a few strings pulled, the Republic pulled it off. Now that things had been settled, the Jedi team could go ahead with their plan.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Tiome muttered as she and the others approached the Mandalorian encampment. "We all do." Rosh replied. Corrin turned back to the others, "This was the best option we had. We need to trust Raltheron on this." The two nodded obediently and continued up to the camp. Raltheron breathed deeply and walked ahead of the group. "Nurrik!" He shouted, "I refused to be manipulated by you anymore! If you're a man of honor, you'll come out here and face me! Let all of our clan know what you've been up to!"

There was a rustle within the camp. The two Mandalorians standing guard had their blasters primed and ready to fire. "Halt traitor." One of them barked, "You've got a lot of nerve to call out the clan leader like that." Raltheron paid no mind to them. "Come out Nurrik! Unless you choose to be a coward and use my brother as leverage again!" The two guards lowered their weapons for just a moment before putting them back up again. That couldn't be right. What was this traitor talking about? Raltheron noticed the guards change in behavior. Just what he was hoping for. "What? You didn't know? He used my brother as leverage, so I could do his dirty work for him. How do you think Nurrik captured your Jedi hostage so easily?" The two guards glanced at one another. Before they could respond, another Mandalorian stepped forward. Unlike the others, there was some small differences about his armor. This one, had to be Nurrik.

"Raltheron." He said in a low commanding voice. "You must be pretty stupid to make such bold claims. I welcomed you back to the clan because I was feeling good about the Jedi. But not only did she almost escape, you left the clan once again. Do you honestly expect us to believe you didn't have a hand in that?"  
"As much as the clan believing you captured her yourself." Raltheron snarked. The Jedi couldn't tell, but he was pretty sure Nurrik narrowed his eyes. "What are you claiming?" He snarled. "I challenge you to a duel. No weapons, no Force powers. Only hand to hand. If I win, you set the Jedi free and leave my brother out of your future plans against me. If you win, you can keep her and all of our clan can believe the lies you've already fed them."

"I agree to those terms." His voice was calm. Nurrik began to remove his weapons belt and handed it off to one of the Mandalorian guards. Raltheron followed suit by handing his lightsaber to Rosh. The human Jedi nodded mutely as Raltheron placed the saber in his hands. The two men turned to face each other. "At least I can finally put you down, traitor." Nurrik snapped. Raltheron instead remained silent. As the two circled each other Nurrik continued to taunt Raltheron. "What's wrong Raltheron? Did the Jedi take your battle prowess? Or are you just afraid to make the first strike."

Raltheron still chose to say nothing, keeping his eyes locked on his opponent, waiting for his opening. After growing impatient long enough, Nurrik finally cracked and charged at Raltheron.

Just as planned.

Raltheron shifted to his right and threw a hammer fist under Nurrik's neck. The Mandalorian was thrown off balance but gained his footing and sprung forward to throw a punch to Raltheron's center. The Jedi lost his breathing for a moment and fell onto his back. Nurrik took his advantage even further by driving his elbow in the same spot he punched bringing even more pain to Raltheron. Nurrik moved in for a chokehold. As Raltheron began to lose air, Nurrik spoke. "If's funny you asked about your brother. Might as well tell you before I kill you. He left the clan not long after you did. Why do you think you could never find him when you were with us? You two were supposed to be the best of us, but after you betrayed us for the Jedi, your brother descended into a weaker man than before. It's a shame he had to leave. There's no telling where he is now."

Enraged by this knowledge, Raltheron began to tug and shift out of Nurrik's hold before getting in a well enough position to toss Nurrik over his shoulder and climbing to his feet. Raltheron slowly got up and faced his opponent. He could feel his anger rising. _Just for right now_ , he thought, _let me use this anger to my advantage!_ With Nurrik on the ground, Raltheron surged forward and with a powerful roundhouse kick (that may have had a touch of Force power behind it), knocked the Mandalorian's helmet off. Raltheron took one long look at Nurrik's face before slamming another roundhouse kick into the Mandalorian's temple, knocking him out. Raltheron turned on his heal to the other Mandalorians watching. "Well…" He demanded, "I beat Nurrik, didn't I? The Jedi is to be turned over to us now!"

The Mandalorians' grumbled as one went over to pick up their leader and the other moved into the camp to release their prisoner. The Mandalorian returned, with a livid young Jedi knight in tow. It was clear Jaden was beat pretty bad and would need treatment for the soon to be burn marks and scars. The Mandalorian extended Jaden's lightsaber to Raltheron, who in turn shook his head and nodded towards Jaden. The Mandalorian gingerly offered the Jedi her lightsaber, which she snatched up quickly from his grasp. She marched up to her team and calmly asked how the mission was settled. With her fully briefed, she replied rather tersely, "Then if we have no more detours, can we please return to the Academy." After no further objections, the team headed back to their ship and plot a course back to the Academy. The moment Jaden took a seat, she passed out. It seemed like the only time she could get a peaceful amount of rest in the past day or two, and it would be a while before they arrived at the Academy. At this point, the Mortis gods themselves could appear and she wouldn't even let that keep her from a few precious hours of sleep. Rosh was sitting next to her, making sure she didn't roll over and hit something from her long cat nap. Raltheron came up behind him.

"Do you think she's still be mad at me?" He asked his human friend. Rosh snorted, "It would surprise me if she wasn't. But I think after letting her know you saved her life… she'll let up on you. It will just take some time."

"Speaking from experience?" Raltheron arched a brow. Rosh looked over at Jaden, then back to Raltheron, "Yeah… experience." He mumbled. Raltheorn shrugged and walked away. _And that's another one._ Rosh thought, _Never can get really close to anyone because of my screw up. Even if we have something in common._ His focus went back to Jaden. At least she pitied him enough to keep him company.

" _There could be more to our friendship than just that…"_

Rosh was startled for a moment, remembering he never finished that conversation with her. He sighed to himself, knowing now was not the time to talk about that. Instead they would head back to the academy and call this mission complete.


End file.
